


Love Thy Neighbour

by FannyT



Series: Ficlet Instruments 2019 [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Ficletinstruments, Gen, Ragnor Fell Lives, Week Four
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-13 02:10:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20166421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FannyT/pseuds/FannyT
Summary: Magnushateshis new neighbour.





	Love Thy Neighbour

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [sh_ficletinstruments](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/sh_ficletinstruments) collection. 

> Dear prompter, I realised I was posting this that I’d messed up part of the prompt. I thought Ragnor had only moved away... Sorry!
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> Magnus and Ragnor have been best friends since childhood. After a tragic accident claims his friend's life Magnus can't seem to let go. Often finding himself parked in front of his friend's house, his world is turned upside down then he pulls up to find moving trucks in front of the house and someone new seems to have moved in.

“The new neighbour is _terrible_,” Magnus tells Catarina, over drinks. Catarina gives him a look, managing to combine sympathy and judging. 

“Honey,” she says. “I know you miss having Ragnor next door, but—”

The rest is lost in a high-pitched scream of “Jace, don’t you _dare_!”, followed by a splash and shrieks of laughter. 

Magnus points towards the neighbour’s fence, pointedly. 

“OK, I take your meaning,” Catarina admits.

“Ragnor always talked about having that pool filled in,” Magnus laments. “Damn his procrastinating.”

* * *

“It’s not that he has parties,” Magnus says. Dot hums, distractedly. “I have parties. I’m fine with people having parties.”

From next door comes the sound of two people apparently hitting each other with sticks, and the occasional shout. 

“It’s just that everything is so _loud_! All the time! And—”

“Darling, I haven’t listened to a word you’ve said,” Dot interrupts. “I realise you’re upset about Ragnor moving across the pond, but I’ve been grading papers for half an hour now and the promised mimosas have not appeared. And to be honest, the only thing more annoying than Ms Olson’s erratic approach to the semicolon is your whining.” 

There’s a loud thump from the other side of the fence, and then a shout of triumph. 

“In your _face_, Izzy!”

Magnus throws his hands up, and Dot rolls her eyes. 

“_Fine_, and the boy next door is a close third.”

* * *

“What’s that smell?” Raphael says, wrinkling his nose. 

“The neighbour,” Magnus sighs (maybe a little dramatically). “He likes to cook—well, I say cook. Apparently merely throwing slabs of meat onto a barbecue counts as cooking these days.”

“You really must stop talking like a retired grandfather. It’s not an attractive quality in people under forty.”

* * *

“Ragnor, it’s a living nightmare,” Magnus complains, over Skype. 

“You tell me,” Ragnor says petulantly. “It’s been raining _constantly_ since I got here and they just elected a haystack for PM. I might just give up this whole _return to my roots_ thing and come back.”

“_Please_. I’ll rope Tessa into finding reasons to evict the boy next door, and you can—oh, for the love of god!”

_Party Rock Anthem_ has just blasted into extremely loud life on the other side of the fence. 

“Sorry, I need to commit murder,” Magnus says, and stalks towards the gate to next door. 

Before he gets there, however, the gate is opened by a ridiculously gorgeous man, hastening through as though he’s being hunted and then staring guiltily at Magnus. 

“Oh, god, I’m sorry,” he says. “Um, I really didn’t mean to—it’s just, my brother’s having his, like, _fourth_ housewarming party over there and I kind of needed an escape…” 

“No, that’s fine,” Magnus says, stunned, then attempts to go for a joke. “My garden is a refuge for all those fleeing the assault of pop.” 

The guy smiles, and for a moment, even the pounding music from next door seems to fade away. 

Upon review, the new neighbour isn’t _all_ bad, Magnus decides.


End file.
